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Honeywell's research-and-development lab in Golden Valley, Minn., is a technological-innovation leader. "The key for all of this is you see Honeywell spending on R&D, driving innovation and driving it to be commercialized. This is a company that starts with customer needs and works backwards to meet those needs," said analyst Steven Winoker of Wall Street research firm Sanford C. Bernstein.

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Two recent reports show that most major shale plays are in Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, and that new and smaller plays will likely struggle this year amid crashing prices. Ninety-three percent of wells churning out more than 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day were in established plays, according to a paper from Bob Brackett, senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Meanwhile, U.S. Capital Advisors cut its 2015-2016 oil price estimate to a range of $60 to $75 per barrel, from its earlier estimate of $70 to $85.

Propelled by federal tax incentives and state commitments, renewable energy production is rising, driving down wholesale electricity prices and fossil fuel generation, according to a report from Sanford C. Bernstein. U.S. renewable energy production rose 40% between 2007 and 2012, thanks to state targets, the report found. "In aggregate, we calculate that these state renewable mandates will require that [about] 7% of total U.S. retail electricity sales be supplied from renewable resources by 2015, and by [approximately] 10% by 2020," wrote Bernstein analyst Hugh Wynn.

General Electric and Honeywell are two Western companies adapting to Asian markets that have local competitors. Honeywell is decentralizing decision-making and offering products that cater to local market needs. Such moves are part of Honeywell's "Becoming the Chinese Competitor" strategy, which takes cues from sourcing and pricing methods of local firms.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada is investing in a four-year project by Ocean Nutrition Canada to test the feasibility of producing biofuels, particularly jet fuel, from an algae discovered in the Atlantic Ocean. The microorganism, which this report describes as a "super-algae," is touted to be much more productive than other known types of algae, Ocean Nutrition Canada said. The Halifax-based company has signed a deal to develop algae-based jet fuel with the National Research Council, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell's UOP.

Honeywell says it has patented a method to eliminate nitrogen fertilizer's use as an explosive while improving its value to some crops. Chemists have long worked to try to make the fertilizer nonexplosive, and Honeywell's method involves combining ammonium nitrate fertilizer with a second type of fertilizer, ammonium sulfate.